On Another Path: Volume II
by Don't Preach
Summary: I have decided to keep on with this Hiroki/Akihiko story, but will be doing it in volumes like the original manga. Ready for the Romantica Misaki/Akihiko date revised and done Novelist style? This story will feature many twisted canon moments, including the interrupted dinner and Ferris wheel. A new member to the Novelists' household and Papa Usami will also make an appearance. "M"
1. Chapter 1: Heart

**AN:**

**So I have been considering how to deal with my love for this Novelist couple and not wanting to do a never-ending story. Then my brilliant reader Barrettachante gave me the wonderful idea of ending "On Another Path" at chapter nineteen. And that's what I decided to do.**

** Now I get to continue on with this couple in storied volumes, like the original manga series.**

**HOORAY!**

* * *

**On Another Path: Volume II  
**

**Chapter One: Heart**

* * *

Several weeks had passed since Akihiko and Hiroki had reconciled.

Still, it seemed to Akihiko, although Hiroki had returned to him and things between them were far more than cordial, only recently had Hiroki begun to fully let his guard down again. Akihiko thought about this as he was fetching coffee for himself and Aikawa.

Had Sato been there, she would have brought the drinks to them but it was one of her days off. Given his last conversation with his father, however, Akihiko was uncertain of how much longer he'd be able to employ his housekeeper.

He'd been wanting to share the details of his last parental exchange with Hiroki, get his lover's response. Akihiko knew that Hiroki was aware things between he and his father were coming to a head. They had just spent so much time "making up" when they'd gotten back together they simply hadn't returned to this issue.

Akihiko was keenly aware too, that, when it came to family affairs, Hiroki wouldn't broach the subject without him making the opening foray into the topic.

A long exhale escaped the author. His father had called again, yesterday, demanding another meeting.

Akihiko swept these thought to the side as he emerged into the front room. A smile crept on over his handsome face as he watched Aikawa and Hiroki talking quietly over his new Novella. It was going to be serially published soon in one Marukawa's premiere magazines. The piece had burst forth from him almost effortlessly three days after Hiroki had returned to him.

The editor and the literature student were sitting facing each other, each occupying one of the main room's couches. Akihiko moved over and set Aikawa's coffee in front of her and then returned to his earlier seat next to Hiroki. Akihiko set his coffee on the low table before him and picked up his cigarettes. He tapped one out and lit up.

"Thank you so much for the coffee, Sensei," Aikawa smiled politely, though she eyed her cup with a bit of apprehension.

Seeing this Akihiko smirked around his cigarette. "Don't worry Aikawa-san, Hiroki made it earlier when he knew you were coming over." Aikawa blushed and grinned at this information; she took a sip much more easily now.

"That makes yet another thing I have to thank you for, Kamijou-san."

Akihiko glanced at Hiroki who immediately dropped his eyes down at the pages he was holding. A faint blush crept into Hiroki's cheeks.

"What were the other things, if I may ask?" Akihiko inquired.

"Well, for one, since you two lovebirds have gotten back together," Aikawa teased, her eyes shining, "you haven't missed a single deadline."

"What makes you think that's Hiroki's doing and not mine?" Akihiko managed to sound slightly wounded, and simultaneously playful.

Aikawa and Hiroki rolled their eyes in unison. Akihiko chuckled at their mirrored expression.

"Second," Aikawa continued, "Your manuscript is impeccable. With Kamijou-san editing, you hardly need me."

Akihiko noticed Hiroki's blush had increased in color each time Aikawa opened her mouth to add a new comment.

"It was far from impeccable, Aikawa-san," Hiroki mumbled. "There were at least half a dozen things you caught that I missed." He sounded annoyed to admit this.

"Ah… so humble, Kamijou-san," Aikawa smiled. "But seriously, you graduate soon. Have you ever considered editing as a profession? I'm sure Marukawa would hire you in a minute with the skills you have."

Hiroki stared at Aikawa, obviously shocked at the idea. He picked up the can of cold tea he'd been sipping from intermittently. After downing the last of it, he cleared his throat and set his can back on the table next to Akihiko's coffee cup.

"No, I don't think editing is for me."

"Why not?" Akihiko and Aikawa asked in stereo.

"Because I love doing it to too much," Hiroki blushed deeper at this admission.

"Please forgive me, Kamijou-san, but that doesn't make any sense," Aikawa objected. "If you can earn a living doing what you love; isn't that what you should pursue?"

"No," Hiroki said simply. "I do it for myself. The minute money is attached, you end up doing it for someone else and it is no longer yours."

"Unlike some people," he looked significantly at Akihiko as he said this, "I do not find many things in life so easily amusing."

Hiroki was making a veiled reference to his lover's ever expanding and increasingly eclectic collections. Akihiko had, in his opinion, wasted the entire morning rapturously studying an antique model car kit that had come in the post the previous day. He cast a significant look at Akihiko before dropping his dark eyes back to his pages.

"So, I beg your forgiveness if I seem foolish in guarding my pleasures."

The author had been about to make a ribald comment about his lover's guarded "pleasures," but after the last incident with Aikawa, he thought the better of it and remained silent. Akihiko was soon incredibly grateful he had, as a moment later Hiroki said something astonishing.

"Besides," Hiroki growled softly, his blush now magnificent, "There's really only one author I'm interested in." His eyes flickered back up to Akihiko for just the merest of moments, before he grabbed his can from the table, and stood up as he moved to take the empty into the kitchen.

Akihiko turned and reached his hand out as Hiroki passed by the back of the couch.

"I'm touched, Old Man." To his mind, this was the closest Hiroki had come to verbally confessing his love since they had gotten together.

Hiroki ignored Akihiko's hand and instead put his palm on the back of his lover's silvered head. Akihiko noticed Hiroki let his hand linger, however, before playfully pushing his head forward.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Hiroki grumbled, seeing the look in Akihiko's eye.

"All I meant is that I don't think I could manage one more author than you, Dumb-ass… Even if he or she were only a quarter as bothersome as you are!"

Hiroki ducked out from under Akihiko's penetrating pale gaze into the kitchen.

"Ahhhh, of course. How silly of me," Akihiko smirked after the disappearing scowl, not believing Hiroki's snarl for even a minute.

* * *

Akihiko and Aikawa were finishing up a few final details when Hiroki re-emerged from the kitchen. He returned to the couch.

Seeing that Akihiko had nearly finished with his cigarette, Hiroki unconsciously plucked it from between his lips and took the last drag before stubbing it out in the panda head ashtray sitting on the coffee table in front of them. The ashtray was another of Akihiko's recent acquisitions.

Aikawa blushed furiously bearing witness to this indirect kiss: there was something in this simple action that struck her as so incredibly intimate. It was, in a way, more revealing than what she had glimpsed that morning going on between the two men in the kitchen.

Akihiko said nothing about his stolen smoke, but his handsome face flickered with a frown for a moment. Hiroki had not begun actively smoking yet, but this practice of finishing off his cigarettes was becoming unsettlingly common.

Catching her author's expression, Aikawa sensed a possible storm brewing. She stood and began to make some rather nervous noises about leaving, not wishing to be anywhere near any possible disturbances between her novelist couple. She allowed the two lovers to accompany her to the door, where she slipped quickly into her shoes and made a rather hasty departure.

Hiroki moved back into the main room and took up his seat on the couch once more. He picked up the copy of Akihiko's novella that Aikawa had gone over after his last edit and stared hard at the few red scrawls the young woman had made, as if by glaring at them long enough he could will them away.

"Hiroki," Akihiko stood at the end of the couch, his large hands tucked in the pockets of crisp tailored trousers.

"Ummmmm," Hiroki did not bother to look up from the papers.

Akihiko said nothing, waiting for him. He had learned long ago that one couldn't have a conversation with Hiroki if the man was even remotely engaged in some other activity. As brilliant as his lover was, multi-tasking was just not one of his gifts.

Finally Hiroki looked up.

"I just can't believe I missed those things… How stupid," he muttered, then seeing Akihiko standing there silently, he frowned. "What?"

"You're too hard on yourself, Kamijou," Akihiko murmured moving over to the couch and plopping his lanky frame down next to Hiroki. He withdrew his hands from his pockets, leaned over, plucked the manuscript from Hiroki, and set it on the table.

Large hands suddenly grasped broad shoulders and before he knew it, Hiroki found himself pulled down, his back flat against the cushions and his wild brown head resting on one of Akihiko's lean thighs. Looking up at Akihiko from his new vantage point, Hiroki's frown deepened.

"That serious, is it?" he sighed.

Akihiko was surprised Hiroki hadn't resisted more. He gently pressed a broad thumb between dark brows and tried to smooth out his lover's ever-present furrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"You only ever call me _Kamijou_ when you have bad news... Or when you're seriously displeased with me." Hiroki's keen eyes searched the handsome face above him.

Now it was Akihiko's turn to sigh.

"I don't like you finishing my smokes… I think it just a matter of time before you start asking for one of your own and I don't want you getting addicted."

"Ummmm. And what did you say when I mentioned quitting to you the last time?"

Akihiko was startled that this was the response to his comment, not an outburst .

"I told you I'd quit when I was dead."

"Well then, I've decided to join you." Hiroki admitted, his cheeks pinking anew. "It's just they taste so blasted awful I haven't been able to catch up yet."

Akihiko pushed Hiroki up off his lap. His voice was incredulous. "You mean you've been trying to get addicted?"

"Well, I spend so much time around you these days I'm already breathing all your cigarettes anyway.

"And, like I said, since you've decided to kill yourself early… Regardless of how subtle you think the attempt is; if you think I'm sticking around here on my own, after you so needlessly kick off, you have another thing coming!" Hiroki's voice was as fierce as his blush now.

Akihiko was stunned. It was Hiroki's second declaration of the day about his significance.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Akihiko snorted. "It doesn't work like that and you know it! None of us knows how long we have. I could live to be a hundred and five or step off the curb tomorrow and get hit by a bus. So could you."

Hiroki held his gaze. "Or die of lung cancer at forty."

"I…" Akihiko stopped before going any further; looking at Hiroki he could see he was serious.

Hiroki scooted closer. Then he leaned over and ran a rough hand through Akihiko's shaggy, silver mane before allowing it to drift down to his cheek.

"I'll tell you what, Akihiko; I'll stop if you will. If my starting is ridiculous, than let's invert it and say, therefore, that your stopping seems incredibly sensible."

Akihiko put his hand over Hiroki's, both amused and annoyed by his lover's manipulations.

"You planned this from the beginning didn't you, you sly bastard."

Hiroki dropped his hand and shrugged, then he unexpectedly turned and settled back down into the same position he'd held before Akihiko had pushed him back up.

"So what if I did?"

Akihiko tangled his fingers in Hiroki's light brown locks. "Okay, Hiroki, I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

"It would seem then that we have reached a reasonable settlement, counselor," Hiroki mumbled, trying hard to keep his eyes open in the midst of his lover's sensual touch.

"Besides…" Hiroki finally allowed his eyes to close, "Maybe, if you quit, I'd let you come in my mouth more often."

"What's this?" Akihiko blinked in surprise. "What has my smoking got to with that?"

"Cigarettes makes your cum more bitter."

Hiroki opened one dark eye in protest that Akihiko had stopped petting him. "So does coffee and alcohol, meat, and pretty much everything else you seem to favor.

"I'm just glad you didn't pick up that awful European habit of ingesting dairy products while you were over there: that makes a man's juice taste horribly rancid."

"Quite the connoisseur, are you?" Akihiko heard himself sounding irritated. He'd found himself increasingly sensitive to any mention of his beloved's love life prior to his entrance into it.

"Honestly, Akihiko, you can't tell me you like it? Though I wonder, the way you consume me."

"I suppose it's an acquired taste," Akihiko conceded. Then he smiled, "What was that Stephen Crane poem you were so mad about?… You know, when you went on that American literature kick back in high school."

Hiroki frowned, trying to remember. "I memorized so many poems then."

"It's the one about the man in the desert."

"Ahhhh," Hiroki sighed with pleasure at the suddenly remembered poem. "Yes, that was a gem."

He closed his eye and recited the piece in a gravelly growl that went straight to Akihiko's cock:

In the desert

I saw a creature, naked, bestial,

Who, squatting upon the ground,

Held his heart in his hands,

And ate of it.

I said, "Is it good, friend?"

"It is bitter—bitter," he answered;

"But I like it

"Because it is bitter,

"And because it is my heart."*

Akihiko basked in the pleasure of his lover's tones. Then he leaned down and kissed a momentarily furrow-free forehead. "So that's my answer then, as you are my heart."

Both Hiroki's eyes opened at this. "How can you say such embarrassing things so freely?" It was not an uncommon question for him to ask, but his tone was much gentler than usual.

"Because I love you." Akihiko sighed, delighted with this truth. Then sensing he was getting into territory that might too soon make Hiroki withdraw from him, he opted to change the subject. "Besides, you're not that bitter. Well, attitude perhaps, at times, but not in taste."

"I work on that."

"You do?" Akihiko was amazed by how many times Hiroki had surprised him that day.

"Why do you think my mother is always sending me all that fruit?"

"Because she loves you and she wants you to be healthy?"

"That," Hiroki sorted, "and she read an article in a magazine on things that make a man's spunk taste better."

Akihiko cocked a brow at his lover, his expression astounded.

"She thought it might be helpful," Hiroki mumbled, horribly embarrassed that his mother, who was so traditional in some ways, was so annoyingly progressive in others.

"What's it like having a mother who's aware of your orientation and is completely supportive?" Akihiko was curious. His own mother had labeled him a freak and washed her hands of him long before his inclinations had been confirmed.

"Too supportive sometimes," Hiroki growled. "And I fear she still misunderstands quite a lot and thinks of me more like a daughter than a son. She keeps asking me when I'm going to be bringing by a son-in-law for her to approve."

Akihiko chuckled at this information much to Hiroki's chagrin. "Perhaps I'll have to send her a thank you note for the fruit." Hiroki shot up from his lap.

"Don't you dare!"

"What? Why?" Akihiko asked eyes wide. Then his lavender gaze narrowed wickedly.

"You haven't told her yet? Why not? Your mother loves me. In fact, I bet she'd be delighted that we're going out."

Hiroki's eyes blazed. "That's exactly why you're not saying anything to her. I don't want you getting her hopes up!

"She's had her eye on us ever since she coerced me into telling her I was gay." Dark eyes suddenly narrowed. "Wait… What do you mean we're going out?"

Akihiko looked at Hiroki with confusion; his face lost its mirth and slipped into its stoic mask of defense.

"What in the hell do you think it we've been doing here, Kamijou?" Akihiko realized Hiroki's earlier assertion about his chosen form of address when he was displeased was exactly correct.

"I mean we eat together more often than not these days, we shop together, we study together, attend lectures and concerts, we sleep together often, we fuck… You even cut sausages into octopi for me!"

"I did that once and you promised you would never mention it again, you ass!" Hiroki's cheeks burned crimson. "Besides…" Some of the steam had evaporated from these next words, "with the exception of fucking, we were pretty much doing all of that stuff before."

A sudden light of realization glowed on Akihiko's face. "Oh, I get it. I need to take you on a proper date then."

"What? No!" Hiroki rose up from the couch. His furious gaze darted this way and that, as though he couldn't decide the safest place to retreat to. In the end he opted to head towards the kitchen.

"I'm not some girl who needs to be wooed," Hiroki fumed. "If you say we're 'going out' that good enough for me!"

Akihiko leapt up himself and popped over the back of the couch. He halted Hiroki's retreat, wrapping long, muscular arms around his lover's torso. One large hand slipped down and began kneading Hiroki's limp cock through the fabric of his jeans.

Akihiko delighted in feeling his lover's dick rapidly come to life under his hand.

Hiroki felt a hot mouth on the back of his neck, working its way up to his ear. Akihiko's silky voice grabbed hold of him, just as surely as the hand that was on his cock.

"I am so aware that you're not a girl, Hiroki," Akihiko purred, offering his hardening shaft a stroke to underline this. "But I am taking you out on a date…

"Friday.

"As soon as classes are over, I'm picking you up. So meet me at the south gate."

Hiroki turned in his lover's arms. He took Akihiko's face in his hands and kissed him fiercely. One hand dropped down and with practiced fingers, quickly undid Akihiko's trousers. Reaching in through the slit of his briefs, Hiroki found, to his great pleasure, that he was already hard.

His hand slipped down and offered a challenging squeeze to Akihiko's heavy sac. Akihiko gave a lustful growl at this touch. He broke their kiss and placed a sucking nip on the underside of Hiroki's jaw.

"Fine, Friday," Hiroki conceded.

He pushed his author until Akihiko's back was against the wall dividing the main room from the kitchen. Entwined, they sank down to the floor together.

"I'll go on your date, But in the meantime, Akihiko…" Hiroki's husky voice rumbled as he leaned in for another kiss, "You better hurry up and fuck me."

* * *

**Ready for the Romantica Misaki/Akihiko date revised and done Novelist style? **

**Promise there will be new material coming... heh... in more ways than one.  
**

**Thank you for reading and please review.**

* * *

***Source: **_**Twentieth-Century American Poetry**_** (2004)**

**Also, all that information on diet and sperm taste is valid... There's even ads for a Vegan Diet that are aimed at men now that hint at this… Some not subtly.**

**Though it will never taste like honey... Celery, pineapple and different berries will make it sweeter. Ladies and gents you can even go online and get recipes for a morning smoothie that is supposed to improve the flavor... so feed that to your lover or yourself. **

** Drinking more water will change the consistency of sperm too, making it more fluid. Another point for proper hydration. Hooray!**

**Thus ends today's Fun with Cum lesson. ;)  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Driving Forces

**So my wondrous ones, this was the last chapter of my repost, but I have added new stuff on to it. And we're off, galloping into new (and old canon) territory!**

**On Another Path: Volume II  
**

**Chapter Two: Driving Forces**

* * *

It was Friday, a bit shy of noon and Hiroki had just finished his last class of the day. Today was a light day for him and, wonderfully, he had no Saturday classes this semester. The literature student rose from his seat and set his book and his laptop into his bag.

A few of the girls in the class cast wistful eyes at him, but Hiroki didn't notice.

This was not the first time he had been the recipient of such unacknowledged attention, but he caused more of a stir today as he looked particularly sharp. Though he would never admit it and had taken great pains to avoid it, he'd chosen his ensemble carefully that morning in anticipation of his outing with Akihiko.

Hiroki had not seen his lover since the day they had made the date. They both had been busy with classes and Akihiko said he had to start another book project. He had something "a bit different," he wanted to explore.

Bowing respectfully to Professor Yoshida on his way out, Hiroki thanked him. He had made his formal apology to Yoshida the day after his outburst in the hall with Akihiko and was being very mindful to conduct himself impeccably now and to stay in the Professor's good graces.

As he left the class room Hiroki's brow took on an anxious crease.

Over the course of their friendship, he and Akihiko had done countless things together: ate, attended lectures, seen films and concerts, and yet, Hiroki had never felt quite as he did today.

Measuring his steps, as he left the classroom he headed out to the grounds. It was all he could do to hold himself in check and not run to their appointed meeting place to see if Akihiko was there yet. Hiroki's heart raced a bit faster with anticipation and he damned himself for being so easily moved.

Part of his agitation, he supposed, was a testament to the power of language. It was amazing what affixing a simple one syllable word "date" to a series of events did to a person's emotions. He'd never been on a proper date with a man before: all his past liaison's had come from pickups in clubs and bars, and a few less reputable places. Regardless, he was annoyed for feeling so nervous.

Walking across campus Hiroki wondered what Akihiko had planned. The idiot had refused to make any disclosures, saying he wanted to "surprise" him. Given Akihiko's nature, Hiroki supposed he had a right to feel disconcerted.

_We could end up spending the whole date shopping for marimo, or some other waste of time and money..._

Hiroki huffed an annoyed breath, considering the increasing number of tanks in Akihiko's apartment. Sato-san had been quick to vocalize her disapproval and her reluctance to having to clean them, so, when around, he'd found himself dealing with them.

Looking up from this thought, Hiroki was immediately greeted with the picture of Akihiko parked just outside the campus' south gate.

His heart skipped a beat and suddenly he didn't care how they spent their time that day or if Akihiko wanted to add a hundred new tanks to his flat.

Akihiko looked impeccable. He was dressed in an expensive suit and leaning against the side of a sleek, silver sports car. The first thing Hiroki noticed, outside of the fact his lover was fucking gorgeous, was that the man was sans cigarette. Hiroki found himself hard pressed not to smile at this.

Instead, however, he affixed a scowl on his face as he neared the car.

"What's this?" His tone was suspicious. Akihiko had been driving a stately sedan for a few years now, a family car given to him by his father.

Hiroki knew Akihiko, with his passion for automobiles, had been coveting a sports car for ages. However, though the senior Usami kept a relatively loose rein on his youngest son's finances, it was not loose enough for that kind of indulgence.

"It's a rental." Akihiko ran a hand over the curve of the car's hood in the same way he would a lover. Hiroki knew it was ridiculous, but he felt a slight pang of jealousy witnessing this reverent touch.

"It's a bit flashy." Hiroki blushed, extremely conscious of the stares both the car and Akihiko were drawing from the other "T" students passing by.

"No, I disagree. In fact, I think it's just right to carry two young men with brilliant futures off for a night out on the town." Akihiko rose up off the car and stepped out to meet his "date."

He turned back for just a brief moment to admire the vehicle's greyhound contours. "It's a Nissan 370Z, the Fairlady Z. It has a V6, 332 horsepower engine. This one has a 7-speed automatic transmission but, you know, it can come with a with 6-speed gearbox, instead, if one's so inclined. I got the automatic for the city, but I'd love to drive a manual out in the open sometime."

Hiroki had felt his eyes begin to glaze over at the first set of numbers. He sometimes felt it made his masculinity suspect that he cared nothing about cars, models, or their mechanisms. To him the point was that the vehicle took him from one place to another. He would much rather fill his memory banks with poetry, passages of prose, or, at the very least, baseball stats.

Looking at Akihiko's shining eyes, however, Hiroki understood it was different for his lover.

Cars were a subject Akihiko and his grandfather in England had spent hours bonding over. Hiroki knew Akihiko, though he hated his mother, revered the Usami patriarch. And, from what little he'd garnered from the rare bits of information offered about his lover's childhood, it seemed that Akihiko's westernized grandfather's awkward affections had, quite possibly, been the only thing that had kept him from going completely mad in his younger years.

Not wanting to dampen the lovely sparkle in Akihiko's gaze, Hiroki feigned interest and nodded. "Nice."

"I wanted red but they only had silver and black," Akihiko sighed. "I thought black was too heavy for this occasion,"

"I'm glad they didn't have red," Hiroki commented, thinking about how much more attention that would attract. "Besides, silver goes better with your hair." It wasn't until after he muttered this that Hiroki realized how fey this sounded. He frowned at his unfortunate expression.

Akihiko, however, was delighted with comment. He stepped up to Hiroki and placed an affectionate peck on the brunet's cheek.

"What in the hell, Akihiko!" Hiroki growled and pushed him away. "We're in public!"

This rebuff did not dampen Akihiko's spirits in the least. "Just wait till I get you in private then!"

Hiroki blushed at this just as furiously as he scowled. He made his way to the car. He noticed Akihiko stepped ahead of him and prepare to open the passenger door.

"Don't even think about it, Akihiko!" Hiroki rumbled his warning.

Pale brows rose and Akihiko grinned, but he bowed slightly acknowledging his lover's directive and stepped away. This modest concession mollified Hiroki somewhat. He opened the door and slid in, his nostrils filled with the rich scent of leather.

Akihiko opened the driver's side door and slid in next to him. In his walk around the car he had carefully composed his face, but his eyes glowed.

"You're in fine fettle today," Hiroki grumbled.

"And why shouldn't I be? I'm going on a date with the man I love. I can think of few things more uplifting."

Hiroki couldn't help but snort at Akihiko's enthusiasm. Still, he was moved by his friend's pleasure and the tight bands he normally employed to keep his expansive heart well-contained, loosened.

Akihiko started the car. He cocked his head slightly, listening and relishing the purr of fine mechanics.

"Ready for an adventure?"

The young author was shocked when in answer, strong hands gripped the front of his suit jacket and pulled him forward. Hiroki's lips brushed his softly and then quickly became more fervent. Feeling Hiroki petition for entrance, Akihiko opened himself and soon Hiroki's tongue was in him, filling his mouth with a slick poetry of sensation.

Encountering the true taste of Akihiko and not his cigarettes, Hiroki was suddenly famished. His hands sought Akihiko's silvered mane as he pulled the him in. His mouth pursued his lover's vigorously. When he finally released Akihiko, they were both breathing hard.

Hiroki adjusted his trousers where they had suddenly become a bit tight. He snapped his seat belt casually as if what he'd just done was a perfectly normal, everyday occurrence for him. He turned back to his wide-eyed author and reached out his thumb to smooth a bit of saliva that glistened in the corner of Akihiko's mouth, while his sly tongue licked out slowly, gathering another bit that lingered on his own kiss-bruised bottom lip.

Seeing Akihiko's pale eyes grow a bit wider yet at this sensual tease, Hiroki turned face-forward in his seat and gazed out through the windshield. "Now I'm ready."

The barest twist of a smile quirked his mouth.

Akihiko however couldn't help but break into a wide grin himself. Hiroki caught the look from the corner of his eyes and his chest swelled just slightly. It was the kind of smile Akihiko had only brought out for Takahiro before and it rendered him incredibly beautiful.

"Wow, if I'd known a date was going to get me that kind of reception, I would have asked you out years ago!"

Hiroki fidgeted in his seat at these words. "Shut up and drive, Dumbass."

Akihiko's joy could not be dampened by Hiroki's feigned temper. He gave a gallant nod and slipped the car into reverse.

Once the car was in motion the couple fell silent.

Sitting in a private car and not taking public transit always felt like a luxury to Hiroki, even though he had ridden with Akihiko numerous times before. He watched as Akihiko skillfully maneuvered away from the campus and into the busy downtown streets. In their continued silence, Hiroki felt his earlier bravado begin to slip away from him.

He suddenly wondered if he shouldn't have done more for their outing.

_What are the expectations in a situation like this anyway?_

As they drove past a digital clock, Hiroki noted the time again. _I wonder if Akihiko's had anything for lunch? Should I have brought a bento or something?_

Hiroki tried to distract himself from his mounting worry by casting surreptitious glances at his lover. He noted Akihiko fidgeting a bit himself.

_Akihiko never gets nervous, he probably just wants a cigarette._

His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when Akihiko cleared his throat. "Say, Old Man, could you grab my pack from the glove box?"

A sigh escaped Hiroki as he leaned forward; words of disappointment teetered on the tip of his tongue. He swallowed them quickly, however, when the compartment door fell opening revealing only the rental documents and a pack of nicotine gum.

Hiroki reached in and pulled out the gum. He looked over at Akihiko, who gave him a wink and a smirk.

"Idiot," Hiroki growled handing over the pack. He blushed knowing he'd been played and grew even darker when he thought about how Akihiko would have ragged him, if he'd articulated any of the things that he'd been on the verge of saying.

"Is that any way to speak to a man whose making such a sacrifice for you, Hiroki?" Akihiko pulled a piece of gum from the pack and popped it into his mouth.

Watching Akihiko chew, Hiroki was struck with the thought that despite, their dangers, cigarettes were certainly a sexier look.

"Because honestly, this quitting business is a pain in the ass." Akihiko growled around his gum. "I want you to know that if I make it through this, I expect to live to a hundred and five and I am holding you responsible to get me there."

Both young men's eyes widened when instead of tossing off a snappy retort to this tease, Hiroki replied with a serious sounding, "I'll do my best."

This was followed quickly by "Watch the road, Moron!" as Akihiko had been so caught off guard by this response he'd almost stopped the car in the middle of the fast moving traffic.

The notion that Hiroki might stand by his side for any real length of time had finally struck him. "You'd do that, Hiroki?"

Akihiko found himself being scowled at by a pair of fierce, dark eyes. Hiroki blushed crimson at what he'd inadvertently declared but it was also his truth. That didn't mean, however, that Akihiko could pull him into some sappy confession.

"Of course! I just said it didn't I?" Hiroki shifted his gaze and fixed his eyes firmly on the trunk of the car ahead of them. "I mean, who else is going to put up with you for that long?"

Akihiko felt his heart well, understanding the meaning beneath Hiroki's words. .

Silence descended again upon the couple. After a few minutes, unable to endure all the troubling self-talk going on within his head, Hiroki reached over and turned on the radio. An cacophonous swell of sound erupted and the rumbling lyrics of American rap poured out through the car's speakers.

Hiroki grimaced and reached out to switch it to something else, but then noted that the stereo was a complex new-fangled set up. The literature student realized with chagrin that he had no idea how to go about selecting a new channel. Rather than look like an idiot pressing all manner of buttons, Hiroki dropped his hand and allowed the bass-heavy beat to continue.

When the next thumping song started, Akihiko cast his pale gaze over at his friend. "You fancy that music, do you, Hiroki? I always thought you went more for classical."

"It's the poetry of a new generation!" Hiroki declared hotly, though truthfully his temples had already begun to ache.

Akihiko cocked his head and listened to the lyrics. This new song was apparently about fast food since someone's "_milkshake" was_ "bringing all the boys to the yard."

He shook his head and watched a new and furious blush spot Hiroki's cheeks.

Akihiko snapped his gum. "You have strange taste in music, my friend."

* * *

**God these guys are fun to write. I appreciate all the alerts and favorites for this new arc. Thanks for reading and please review!**


End file.
